Sin…

broken heart red flame pictures, backgrounds and imagesI write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. And this is the boldness we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have obtained the requests made of him. If you see your brother or sister committing what is not a mortal sin, you will ask, and God will give life to such a one—to those whose sin is not mortal. There is sin that is mortal; I do not say that you should pray about that. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not mortal. We know that those who are born of God do not sin, but the one who was born of God protects them, and the evil one does not touch them.We know that we are God’s children, and that the whole world lies under the power of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols. (1 John 5:13-21, NRSV)

Pray that God will forgive your brothers and sisters their sins!

Did you read that. John did not tell us to make it known to our brothers and sisters what they are doing wrong. He did not tell them if they do not change their actions they will be breaking God’s heart and going to eternal torment.

John tells us to pray that God will forgive them! We need to ask God for the things we see we need and for the things we see that others need. And if it is in His will, it will be given.

So pray for the sins of your sisters and brothers and watch what awesome things our God will do!

Who is against me…

O Lord, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; many are saying of my soul, there is no salvation for him in God. Selah But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. I cried aloud to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the Lord sustained me. I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around. Arise, O Lord ! Save me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked. Salvation belongs to the Lord; your blessing be on your people! Selah (Psalm 3:1-8 ESV)

Have you ever had one of those days when everyone’s on your case? Maybe your teacher, your girlfriend, your boss, your boyfriend, your spouse… Everyone seems to be against you.

That is how the psalmist here feels… Many are rising against me and it seems I have no where to go, no one to turn to, and no escape from the impending doom.

But God is a shield and shelter, He is the one who lifts your head when everyone else seems to bend it to the ground…

He will be your salvation and your escape when it seems like everyone is against you.

What you got!

The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” The Lord replied, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. “Who among you would say to your slave who has just come in from plowing or tending sheep in the field, ‘Come here at once and take your place at the table’? Would you not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, put on your apron and serve me while I eat and drink; later you may eat and drink’? Do you thank the slave for doing what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were ordered to do, say, ‘We are worthless slaves; we have done only what we ought to have done!’ ” (Luke 17:5-10, NRSV)

How many of you have been where the disciples are in this reading?

How many of you have asked Jesus to increase your faith?

But is faith something we can quantify?

Is faith something we can really have more of?

Jesus tells the disciples “IF you had faith the size of a mustard seed…”. This means they don’t even have that much faith.

We think this is bad, because most of us look at what we don’t have rather than what we do.

Jesus is not saying the disciples need more, but what they have is enough! Their faith, like ours, is not enough to move a tree into the sea, but what we have been given is enough to do what is expected.

So don’t wish for more. Be happy with what you have!

Trust

Do not fret because of the wicked; do not be envious of wrongdoers, for they will soon fade like the grass, and wither like the green herb. Trust in the Lord, and do good; so you will live in the land, and enjoy security. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. He will make your vindication shine like the light, and the justice of your cause like the noonday. Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him; do not fret over those who prosper in their way, over those who carry out evil devices. Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath. Do not fret it leads only to evil. For the wicked shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land. (Psalm 37:1-9, NRSV)

We are not to get hung up on what those who don’t believe as we do do.

They will fade away, and we can not be envious of what people have when they do wrong, because they are not trusting in what we need to trust in.

Our lives may not seem to be as good as those around us but we can not judge our lives against them, we have to trust God has given us the best we can have right now…

Where you live…

‘And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These are the words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword: ‘I know where you are living, where Satan’s throne is. Yet you are holding fast to my name, and you did not deny your faith in me even in the days of Antipas my witness, my faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan lives. But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling-block before the people of Israel, so that they would eat food sacrificed to idols and practice fornication. So you also have some who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Repent then. If not, I will come to you soon and make war against them with the sword of my mouth. Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. To everyone who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give a white stone, and on the white stone is written a new name that no one knows except the one who receives it. (Revelation 2:12-17, NRSV)

Another text that brings us comfort!

Not that we are comforted by the fact that we are residing where Satan’s throne is, but we are comforted by the fact that God understands where we live!

You see there is nothing He hasn’t seen. There is no where He has not been.

He has been everywhere and experienced all of the things you will ever go through. He knows the suffering you are going to face, and then some.

Take solace in the peace that God has given you. And trust that He has been there and will be able to bring you through everything.

 

Fear of suffering

“And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of the first and the last, who was dead and came to life: “I know your affliction and your poverty, even though you are rich. I know the slander on the part of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Beware, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison so that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have affliction. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. Whoever conquers will not be harmed by the second death. (Revelation 2:8-11, NRSV)

“Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.” Yoda.

I read this passage from Revelation today and was comforted…

Comforted by a synagogue of Satan? No!

I am not comforted by the fact that there are those in the body who are supposed followers of Christ yet actually do their best to work against God. We all actually fall into this category at some point. But this is not comforting…

What is comforting is that God knows us. He knows that we are poor even in our riches. He knows the suffering we are going to face. He knows what we are going to face and has it all under control. He has our lives in His hands and we do not have to fear what might come because He will see us through!

We do not have to fear what we will suffer, just know that in the valley He is always with us!

The Bible summary you may have wanted but never took the time to compile…or maybe you didn’t want it. Regardless, here it is.

Good Read!

Timothy Brown's avatarReluctant Xtian

This past Sunday at my church we started a new adult education series called, “The Bible: What is it?”images

I wanted to name it, “The Bible: What the Hell?” but my editors decided against that.

Overall, the first day of the class went OK.  I say just “OK” because, well, we talked about some boring stuff on Sunday like how the Bible came about. Basically some Bishops of the ancient church started proposing that there should be a particular “plumb-line” for what is acceptable to use as scripture…mostly in reaction to some interesting suggestions (they called them “heresies” but, whatev) from some other Bishops like Marcion.

So in the year 331 they arrived at what we commonly call our Biblical canon (“canon” is a fancy word for “ruler”…as in, what something is measured by).

So the Christian Bible (of the Protestant flavor) contains 66 books with histories, myths, poetry…

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What possess you?

Then someone came to him and said, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.” He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honor your father and mother; also, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The young man said to him, “I have kept all these; what do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this word, he went away grieving, for he had many possessions. (Matthew 19:16-22, NRSV)

This man went away form Jesus grieving for he had many things he could not sell…

What do you have in your life that you can not sell? What thing or things, possess your time, your love, your honor, your devotion? What is it that Jesus would peer into your soul and say, “If you wish to be perfect, go and…”

Jesus is waiting for you to allow Him to be the possession you give your time, your love, your honor, your devotion to…

What is it He would ask you to give up?

And can you give it up,to get the life that only He can give you?

Church Basements, Government Shutdowns, Kitchen Tables and the Kingdom of God

Words worth your time to read!

geoff sinibaldo's avatarsinibaldo.wordpress.com

folding.chairI’ve spent some time in church basements and meeting rooms listening to people talk about their church. Faithful and faith-filled people have been part of each gathering. Some people are hopeful; some people are scared; some people have grand plans and visions for the future while others wonder if their community can survive. I’ve sat with colleagues at meetings, lunch dates and coffee shops having similar consultations.  In each of the three churches I’ve served as pastor we’ve had cottage meetings, retreats and planning days to think about our work as a congregation and where God is calling us a community.

These conversations are important. The insights shared are helpful. The community-building that takes place as a result of these gatherings creates common vision and understanding.  In these discussions we re-center our ministry on the work of being the church – gathering for worship, opening the scriptures, praying together and…

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